Arkay

Background

Arkay, colloquially known as the God of the Cycle of Birth and Death, was a major divinity of the Nine Divines, the official religion of the Cyrodilic Empires, and represented the qualities of birth and death. Arkay was not only a member of the Nine Divines, but was a popular divinity across Tamriel and could be found in many diverse pantheons.

Arkay was often more important in those cultures where his father, Akatosh, was either less related to time or where his time aspects were difficult to comprehend by the layman. He was the god of burials and funeral rites, and was sometimes associated with the seasons. His priests were staunch opponents of Necromancy and all forms of the undead. It was said that Arkay did not exist before the world of Nirn was created by the Nine Divines under Lorkhan's supervision.

Therefore, he was sometimes called the Mortals' God. The Mortals' God was the great spirit who brought every man and woman, Nede, Mer, Khajiit, and Argonian into the world, and when he deemed the time right he ended their circle of life and death. Arkay was fertility and blight, joy and sorrow. Arkay stood for blessed neutrality and his chapels did not offer blessings to pilgrims as giving either favor or curse would be to upset the eternal balance.